Lily Tomlin Coming to Capitol Center for the Arts, 4/24

Don't miss an unforgettable evening of fun and sidesplitting laughter at the Capitol Center for the Arts with Grammy, Tony and Emmy Award-winner Lily Tomlin on Friday April 24, at 8pm. You don't want to miss this warm and uniquely affecting experience filled with comical insights and wildly, witty observations about the human condition.

Lily's extraordinary career spans 40 years. She has won (over a 40 year career) two Tonys, two Peabodys, six Emmys, a Grammy, an Oscar nomination, awards from the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle, plus the Mark Twain Prize for American humor. She is, without a doubt, a living legend with work in feature films, records, television, and theater. Her characters from the television show Laugh-In (which ran from 1969-72) -- the precocious 5 ½ year old Edith Ann and the telephone operator Ernestine - are cultural icons. Lily's characters make us laugh because they strike a chord in us, whether she's lounge lizard Tommy Velour, the housewife from Calumet City IL Judith Beasley, Sister Boogie Woman, or Trudy the Bag Lady.

She explains her approach: "I try to construct a compressed accuracy, a character essence that is as true and real as I can get it. I never play for a joke, per se." Film director Robert Benton, who worked with her in The Late Show, said of Tomlin, "Her imagination is so vast that she just assumes the personality of the character." Tomlin's range is wide. In her 1975 film debut, Tomlin was nominated for an Academy Award for her searing portrayal of a gospel singer and mother of two deaf children in Robert Altman's Nashville.

In 1977, Lily made her Broadway debut in Appearing Nitely, written and directed by Jane Wagner, her partner for over 30 years. She won a Tony Award for that performance. In a recent interview Lily talked about their masterwork, The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, which was originally produced in 1985 and remounted in 2001. It was an attempt to find "the common experience of being a human being and muddling through and trying to have even a small portion of sanity and peace and some joy." In addition to touring and other projects, Lily had a recurring role on the TV show The West Wing. She remains committed to a number of social justice issues and a few years ago Lily and Wagner opened a cultural center in LA to offer arts events and to raise funds for people with HIV and AIDS.

Tickets for Lily Tomlin's performance on April 24 are available now by calling 603-225-1111, online at www.ccanh.com, and at the box office, located at 44 South Main Street, Concord, NH 03301, on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Saturday hours after Labor Day) Tickets: $59.50 Gold Circle, $49.50 Orchestra/Mezzanine & $39.50 Balcony.

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